


A Clever Fish

by Rivenchu



Series: A ______ Fish [2]
Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Bored Reginald is bad for everyone, M/M, Right is officially Tired, but hey he can be mischievous too, he's been waiting to do this for days, he's stuck but that doesn't mean he can't get into trouble, it's overly fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:41:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27563227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivenchu/pseuds/Rivenchu
Summary: Right, so there was a fish living in his bathtub. Yep. That was a thing that happened almost a week ago. It's been a wild ride so far.
Relationships: Reginald Copperbottom/Right Hand Man
Series: A ______ Fish [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2014693
Comments: 7
Kudos: 55





	A Clever Fish

**Author's Note:**

> Got distracted from this for awhile by MintyFrosty's other AUs (on tumblr, go look also credit!), but it's finally done! Little longer than I thought but... oh well?

A clever fish.

That's what he had ended up bringing into his house a week ago. When you had no idea what to expect it was easy to be surprised. 

The first day had been a disaster. In retrospect he was glad he found the mer before the tide fully went out. It helped ease the fact he'd almost unintentionally murdered his new bathroom guest instead of leaving him to definitely die.

Well, and almost suffocated him on the second day's fiasco. He'd come back from picking up some supplies to a faint fish and panicked. It was a good lesson that the water needed to be changed everyday. 

Right had picked up the largest wooden bucket he had and run to the nearest brook where he usually got his water. Normally it would take fifteen minutes in a round trip but he shaved it down to ten. He'd apologized later for the manhandling (merhandling?) when he yanked the other out the tub to shove his face in a bucket. 

He wasn't proud of his solution, but it worked. 

Now they had routine worked out of daily water change, and cleaning the tub every third day. Reginald still didn't like the bucket or being stuck on the ground with a wet blanket thrown over him to prevent drying. It took quite a few trips to even fill the tub halfway but the mer never complained.

Using his foot to push open his front door he walked through his main room the the bathroom door and nudged it open again. He was tired lugging so much water around and he wanted this done now. Lowering one to the ground he dumped one in and then the other, looked like a good level.

Wiping his forehead Right sat down in the chair he now left in the room and looked over at his guest.

Reginald was already watching him patiently. It looked like enough work to walk around, but carrying heavy things made it look worse. He could stand... lay a few more minutes on the floor. "Find anything interesting outside?"

"Mmn." Taking off his hat and shrugging his outer jacket off Right nodded. Pulling out a dandelion he threw it over, "Gentle with it." 

The mer stared intently at the flower in front of him before shoving his head back in the bucket. Water streamed from his gills and splashed onto the floor as he yanked his head out. Pushing the bucket aside he reached for the weed and carefully picked it up studying it with fierce intensity.

The bathroom floor of his was never going to be the same. It never got to dry out anymore. Right needed to look into options for that. It almost made him wish he lived close enough to the city for running water with the fancy drains. Living off the grid was better for his profession though.

Before this he would have never stop to look at another common weed like that unless he was hungry and strapped for cash. Now he kept an eye for anything he could bring back. The attention to detail made him appreciate his time outside. Reinvigorating so to speak, he felt like he'd been in a rut lately.

"Another plant?" Reginald murmured and sniffed at the dandelion. "Water safe?" He looked back over at the tired human for an answer.

"Mmmhmm."

Pulling the bucket back over the mer dropped the flower in and swirled the bucket around before sticking his head back in. There went more water on his floor.

Right blinked and stretched his arms. He should get the fish back in the water soon, but he'd let him finish with the flower before. It'd been a shock (though really it shouldn't have been) to find out that the mer's sense of smell and taste worked better in the water. Since then he tried not to touch the tub water much, it was probably rude and distracting?

Oh and the teeth. First time he'd gotten a good look when his guest laughed Right was glad he'd been cautious about avoiding a bite. Merpeople must mainly hunt other fish for their diets. The other had confirmed and then been curious what a human would eat. 

His life had become so surreal, he had thought, as he had sat near the tub with his mouth open for the mer to see. Could he bite thought anything with those flat teeth? The back teeth were very strange. Chew? What a weird way to eat food!

Reginald made a face at his host when he emerged from the bucket again. The green part smelled bitter, but the yellow was nice. The plant was admired better out of water, anything else like it he'd make sure to keep out for the future. Maybe. 

"A'right. Let's get ya back in." Right heaved himself to his feet, biting back a groan. Tomorrow he was going to not do anything more than necessary. Stopping by the city earlier today to pick more fish and a few items for himself should last a couple more days. 

Reginald rolled over and swished the wet fabric off happily. It did it's job, but he didn't like having to stay still so long or risk part of his fins drying out. Maybe once his tail healed more he could use it to help get into the tub himself. Of course if it was healing well then his time here was running out.

The mer had mixed feelings on that. 

There was a... bandage? It reminded him of kelp. The bandage was wrapped around the injured bit of tail to help it heal faster. Something about stabilization to aid the healing process and it didn't hurt so there it stayed. The human seemed so certain he had let him do as he wished.

Holding out his arms he waited for Right to squat down and wrap his arms around him. Loosely draping his own arms around his host's neck he marveled at how warm humans were as he was lifted up. 

The strange feeling of swaying as his host walked closer to the tub left the mer wondering if the other even noticed to motion anymore. Right made it look so easy to get around on the dry land. 

Hoisting his tail up and Reginald carefully let it sink into the water to avoid drenching his host. Well, more than he already was for picking him up. 

The mer let go once he felt water creep up to his chest. He was sad that water washed away the warmth from the transfer, but happy to breath down some water with abandon. He stayed submerged until he felt the tub jolt and saw something rest on the at the bottom edge above the water.

Popping back up he saw Right had sat back down and was resting his feet on the bathtub. 

"So, whaddya decide on today's?" Folding his hands leaning back the human watched expectantly.

Reginald lit up as he turned to the small table next to the tub. He paused when he saw the dandelion there and shot the other a grateful smile. He had wanted to look at that more. Some plants were fragile, but some were not like the... acorn. Acorns were fascinating.

As a game to help keep him occupied when Right was out, his host brought three objects every morning. Reginald got to puzzle over them and what they were for as he sat around and didn't try to reach for anything nearby.

...like the first night when he had fallen out reaching for the scrubbing brush. Finding he couldn't get back in the tub had been equally terrifying and embarrassing once the other had come to investigate. 

...and then the third day after the bread loaf incident he learned not everything did well in water. It had gotten everywhere and it was disgusting. Right had made a face when he cleaned out the tub. He had held back all his questions when he was brought outside and multiple buckets of water thrown on him to help wash the mess away. 

He made sure to apologize even if he only wanted to learn more about it. Right had waved off and called it a learning experience for them both. 

Pulling the first item off he brandished the first, a foot long cream strip of fabric. "This makes me think of a bandage, but it's smaller and feels different. Not as stretchy." Pulling the ribbon out with both hands he looked at it. He knew Right used it for something, it was water safe and smelled like the human. "Is it a bandage for smaller things like hands so they don't move as much?"

"Naw." Taking off his at and tossing it out of the room Right reached behind his head and untied his hair. " 's a ribbon for m' hair. Keeps it outta m' face." Holding up a matching ribbon to what the mer was holding he tossed it over. "Lotta people use 'em for decoratin' things too."

Staring at the pair the mer narrowed his eyes at them. He should have noticed that detail. 

Next object.

"This... you use it for sorting? It's like a small tool." Pursing his lips the item was almost the size of his hand. The swirled thing part was where it looked like a grip was, it had many small tines on one side. It seemed like a fishing tool to sift through sand or dirt on a final pass?

"Right track." Holding out his hand Right took the comb and began to run it though his hair. He had used it this morning and tied his hair immediately afterwards to stop it from tangling. He just hadn't cared enough to get it cut yet, only when it grew long enough to be a constant annoyance would he shear it.

Reginald watched entranced. They had something similar below of course, but the comb looked to fine for that purpose. The other's hair looked nice, and the mer couldn't help but wonder what it felt like. 

Right snorted and let the corner of his mouth briefly twitch up in amusement. The mer was just fascinated with anything. 

Once he was done with the comb he threw it over and leaned back in his chair. "A'right, last one then?"

Reginald missed the catch and had to duck underwater to get the comb. He would have to try it out later, maybe with the hair tie too. 

The final object he had the most trouble with. It was a fabric, stretchy like a bandage but hollow? The textile column was sealed off on one end, it was too small to be a used bag. He'd seen Right with a... sack over his shoulder before. It was funny shaped, it angled off sharply near the sealed end.

He really had no idea.

"Hand covering?" Reginald shrugged helplessly as he held up the baffling object.

Right tilted his head, that was an interesting thought. Maybe mittens had started out when people used socks to keep their hands warm? 

"Not quite, lemme show ya." Normally he threw his boots on early in the morning and took them off right before bed. He never wanted to get caught off guard and running through the forest barefoot was asking for an injury.

Taking his feet off the edge of the bathtub the human untied the laces and yanked off his right boot. Peeling off the sock he held up the sock he wore. " 's a sock. 'elps protect m' feet."

Aghast the mer couldn't decide between the boot, the sock or the sliver or exposed leg facing away from him. That hadn't been his feet? The feet had two coverings? It looked like he just horrifically pulled two skins off. 

Throwing the sock back on the table Reginald decided to investigate the discarded boot. Picking it up the bottom felt stiff, but the rest felt supple and soft. The mini ropes held it secure, but they blended in and he felt rude if he just stared at the dry lander's legs when he was here.

" 's a boot. It does most of the protectin'." Right watched as his guest turned over the boot inspecting it thoroughly. He kept a neutral face as he watched waiting expectantly.

Reginald reached the top and looked down into the hole where the human's foot lived. Revulsion rippled through him as he jerked his head back from the smell and dropped the boot. It was so bad. Like something and died in there, then brought in company and it died there too. 

"Water safe." Right added holding his fist up to his mouth to hide the smile he sported. 

The mer shot him the most affronted look he could manage. "I'd rather not."

When the human broke out into laughter, Reginald was caught off guard. He furrowed his brow at the other before relaxing into a smile. He'd been set up. The other had done so much and was working hard he wasn't going to begrudge him a minor prank. He'd really gone and stuck his nose in it. Literally.

"Ah, sorry. Jus' wanted ta see what'd ya do." Wiping a tear from his eye Right shook his head. Priceless. He just couldn't help himself, he'd been saving the reveal for a week just to see what would happen. Worth it.

"Long as it stays out of the water." Wrinkling his nose at the discarded boot he picked it up and threw it closer to his host. That could stay farther away from him thank you very much.

Shaking his head still amused the human took off his other footgear and propped up both feet on the edge of the bathtub again. With a sigh he let his head fall back and folded his hands together. He should get up to start cooking soon, but he also wanted to stay just a bit longer. 

It was quiet. 

Cracking an eye open Right snorted at the now familiar sight of partially submerged head staring out of the tub. He'd been so intent on the boot reveal he forgot the mer would also find what was beneath interesting. "Go on then."

Reginald knew their hands were similar, he'd been allowed to hold his host's hand and compare. This was a new frontier, he had nothing like this down in the ocean. 

The color was the same as the human's face, so maybe he was the same color the whole way through? He had suspected more layers, but finding out dry landers walked around mostly covered the whole time was strange. That was a question for tomorrow when he didn't have mysterious feet in front of him.

There were small red hairs like on his arms, but not on the bottom. Drawing closer until he was almost curled at the end of the tub and his tail twinging uncomfortably he lifted his head out of the water for a closer look.

Okay, it still smelled a little, but he needed to look at the not fingers. Right snickered at him, he must have made another face. 

Hesitantly reaching out he watched the human for any objection as his hand hovered next to the exposed extremity. Attentive eyes stared back, so it must be okay? The not fingers had nails on them just like normal fingers. The largest had one joint like a thumb, but the rest had two. Did they help with walking - no, or else there wouldn't be shoes? 

"So you wear all that so you don't hurt your feet?" Running a finger over the strange arch he wondered why it wasn't flat. Wouldn't an even be easier to strand on, but then the shoe was flat so maybe it helped out that way. Walking must be very complicated though Right made it look easy.

"Yep." Curling his toes and then stretching them out he snickered when the mer's eyes widened. They were just regular feet he wasn't missing anything, but he supposed if you never had a pair it would warrant a look. 

Come to think of it he really had no foot to stand on in the argument since he was fascinated by the mer's tail. Fish up here were nowhere near as colourful and on top of that, purple. That color was reserved for royalty only but that was a human thing not a fish thing.

Right waited til the mer was done looking at his feet before standing up and stretching. He was done eating whatever he scrounged up, he was going to cook something for himself. Something easy and low effort, but more importantly warm.

Reginald sank back down sad to see his host walk off. When the human stayed to talk it was the best part of the day. Sure he loved trying to figure out the things he was given, and studying whatever knick knack was randomly brought back. It wasn't the same as having someone to talk too.

That made whatever time he got all the more precious.

Really, so he couldn't be blamed for switching sides and looking out the bathroom door when he heard clanging noises. He watched as Right walked from the mysterious corner of pantry over to a small wall nook in the main room. He left a black bowl hanging up in and and returned to pantry.

More noises, a quick series of thunks and a scraping noise later and again the human emerged from the pantry carrying something in his hands. Reginald couldn't see what it was from this angle, but he lifted his head enough to rest his chin on the edge of the tub. Back to the wall space with the hanging bowl?

Right turned saw the mer and chuckled. He waved (got an enthusiastic response) and walked back over to prepare more ingredients. 

Three whole more trips later and it took everything Reginald had to not ask what was going on. There were more hard thunk noises, but then it was quieter ones. The last hadn't had any noises and instead sounded like sand falling in water at the wall nook.

He heard the door open - now the human was leaving his wall nook unattended?

Using the edge of the tub the mer tried to lift himself high enough to see inside the bowl. He still couldn't see anything and he didn't want to risk falling out. Drumming his fingers on the bathtub he sighed. No use, he would have to wait.

Right came back moments later carrying... wood? He tucked them in the wall nook and hunched over. A few clicking noises later and his host leaned closer, but when he stepped away it was... dancing light?

Right stretched his back and looked at the fire. Nothing fancy in the pot. Just rice, vegetables, and some small hunks of chicken boiling away. A simple warm filling meal that would take a short amount of time and minimal effort. 

Blinking out the window he saw the sky darkening, was it that late already? Brow furrowing he wondered what having a fire at night would be like with Reginald nearby? Would his eyes light up, or would they merely reflect. 

Yeah, that had been a startling find in the middle of the night. Jolted him from mostly asleep to jumping back out of the room fully awake. Now if he needed to use the bathroom he just went outside for now. No audience needed for that particular chore. 

Scratching the back of his head Right figured it was a good thing to have bright eyes in the deep where it was dark. Still a little creepy in the bathroom. At night. When you had to go.

Walking back over to the pantry he grabbed a skewer with a few bits of chicken and rested it near the pot so it could cook slowly. Chicken was meat, so it was probably safe for the mer. He knew that feeding the wrong thing to the wrong, uh, animal could accidentally kill it. Not that the other was an animal, but he certainly wasn't human.

Glancing over he saw Reginald peering out at him, Right could feel the desire to know what he was up to radiating. Instead the human just grinned and waved before walking ot the front door with a large jar. He wanted to time the answer when things were closer to being done.

Humming to himself he packed the batch of smoked fish away and kicked dirt over the last few embers. Locking the latch behind him he left the jar in a corner and stared at the fire. 

Normally he slept in the corner on his mat, but today sleeping closer to the fire sounded nice. Making up his mind Right fetched his mat and rolled it out in the middle of the room. He didn't dare look in the bathroom, he still had to time his answer.

Wouldn't be too much longer, he could smell it.

Digging around a cabinet he pulled out a sad candle. It would burn for a less than an hour, but that's all he would need it for. Right gathered everything he needed, bowl, spoon, smoked fish, skewered chicken, lit candle, and finally dinner.

Carrying everything over in one trip the human kicked his chair closer to the tub. He wanted to use the firelight to see. "Mind bringin' the table over?"

Reginald was practically vibrating from holding back the number of questions he needed to ask. Carefully pushing the comb, ribbon, and sock to the edge of the table the mer dragged it over and watched his host expectantly. 

First the small dancing light was put down, next the fish, and lastly he was offered a... stick with stuff on it? He could

"Dun bite down to hard, an' it's still hot so start slow. 's chicken." Right sat down and stirred his own meal. 

It was food? Staring at the rod he sniffed and shot a look over to his host. Whatever was in the bowl was the smell that had steadily grown in the house since the human started... whatever he had done earlier. Fog was rising off it, and he could see a little coming off his own.

So he bit into it and his eyes widened. 

Dunking his head underwater Reginald winced, hot meant pain. His tongue felt funny but chicken tasted good. It vaguely reminded him of fish, but had that... more quality like the fish he got. It wasn't as dry and he liked that.

When the mer emerged from the water he felt a warm hand on his head and sighed. 

"Sorry 'bout that. Shoulda mentioned blowin' on it to cool it down." Right furrowed his brow. Withdrawing his hand he got a spoonful of dinner and demonstrated. "Try it."

Reginald dubiously stared at his food and did. He felt very silly but trusted the human knew what he was talking about. The next bite was still warmer than anything he ever ate but it didn't hurt this time. Both eyebrows went up. This was so weird.

Stirring his bowl to cool the whole thing faster Right watched amused. Really the other could take simple things and turn it into an experience. "Anyways, I was cookin' stuff."

"Cooking?" Finishing off the first hunk the mer looked back over expectantly. He let the food linger in his mouth instead of swallowing immediately.

"Yeah. Mix bunch o' things over a fire," Right paused and gestured to the candle, "rather big enough fire an' let the heat cook it. Makes it safer and easier for us humans to eat it."

Pausing blowing on the chicken Reginald frowned up at his host. "That seems like a lot work." Back home it was a simple catch fish, eat fish, maybe make it look fancy if you were trying to impress someone.

"Yeah, but better than gettin' sick and maybe dyin'." Shrugging he missed the horrified look the mer sent him as he took a bite and chewed. On his second bite he looked back and saw the forlorn look. Rolling his eyes Right snorted, "I've had years practice, dun worry 'bout it. Better finish the chicken before it gets cold."

Reginald bit into the chicken and looked up at the small fire as he wondered what it would be like to be a dry lander. Being human seemed like it was filled with inconvenience. Wearing lots of layers, cooking things, chewing, moving around took a bunch of effort...

" 's fire. Dun touch it, it burns." Right waved his hand near the flame causing it to dance. "It should last a little while later after I go ta sleep." 

"You are up late." Pulling off the last bite of chicken the mer carefully put the skewer on the table. Nothing against the fish, but it would be disappointing to follow after the chicken. Not that he was going to complain, Reginald was happy he got to try it even if he did hurt his mouth a little.

"Was cookin'." Right answered between bites, he was looking forward to sleep after a long hard day. Normally he went to bed at sundown. it kept things simple.

Ducking for a breath Reginald surfaced and let his arms hang out of the tub as he watched the other. He had more questions but he wasn't going to ask them today. Letting his fins fan out the mer let himself enjoy the moments passing by as he committed it to memory.

"I haven't been too much of a bother, have I?" The mer waited until the human's bowl was empty before asking one last question of the night. He wanted the other to get some sleep, he was looked tired.

"Nah. Keeps things interestin'." Ruffling his guest's hair Right grabbed the empty skewer and bowl. With a quiet bid for good night he left the room. He'd clean the dishes tomorrow, the pot had enough water with the lid closed so he would have breakfast ready immediately.

Shedding more of his clothes until he was in his shorts and tank top Right walked over to his mat and climbed under the covers. He was tired, the fire was warm, he was dead to the world in under five minutes.

Reginald was eating the neglected smoked fish. Looks like he didn't have to ask what that thing was anymore, it was a sleeping place. It made sense since humans didn't float in water to sleep, and the ground was uncomfortable. Outside of the water everything just felt so... heavy.

Seeing a shoulder with no fin was _weird_ , and he didn't expect Right to have one. They were surprisingly... muscley though. 

Turning his attention to the candle he held his hands around it. Even a small fire he could feel the warmth radiate from it. Humans must love warmth, they wore layers, made fires, ate hot things, and they were warm themselves... 

Reginald let a smile curl on his lips he was becoming growing to like warm a lot.

His attention shifted when he heard movement and he saw his host turn over away from the fire. Unruly mop of red, his face relaxed, and his hand tucked under his chin - that was a sleeping Right.

Very fond of warm indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a couple more ideas, but they'd veer away from the AU a little and I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable writing them then. :T


End file.
